Institutional Support for Undocumented Students at Community Colleges: Undocumented Student Resource Centers at Community Colleges

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 15
  In Roundtable Session: Anti-Immigrant Discourse, Latinx Undocumented Student Resistance, and Sanctuary in School and Out-of-School Spaces

Abstract

Education equity for undocumented students is a pressing civil and human rights issue (Motomura, 2014). Restrictive policies at the federal, state, and institutional level make an affordable college education inaccessible for many undocumented students. Undocumented Student Resource Centers (USRCs) are critical spaces at colleges that provide support to undocumented students (Cisneros & Valdivia, 2018). Community colleges are especially important spaces because the majority of undocumented students in college attend community colleges (Teranishi, Suarez-Orzoco, & Suarez-Orozco, 2011); however, the majority of research focuses on undocumented students at four-year institutions. This qualitative study comprised of interviews with USRC staff at 19 community colleges highlights strategies for undocumented students’ success, collaboration with local neighborhoods, and the result of student mobilization on campus.

Authors

• Rachel Freeman, University of California - Los Angeles

• Jesus Cisneros, University of Texas at El Paso

• Diana Valdivia